World Champions Timeline

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Highly influential analyst and theoretician, the author of positional school in chess, Wilhelm Steinitz became informal #1 in the world after defeating Adolf Andersen in a very close match (London, 1866). Only twenty years later, he won the World Championship match against Zukertort (the USA, 1886) and became the first World Champion. He defended his title in the matches with Chigorin (Habana, 1888 and 1892) and Gunsberg (New York, 1890) but was dethroned by Lasker in 1894.

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The longest reigning World Champion (27 years!), Emmanuel Lasker (1868-1941), beat Steinitz in the title match (1894) but became the undisputed leader of the chess world two years later after winning an elite 4-player tournament in St-Petersburg (1895-1896). After reeling off several impressive tournament victories, Lasker successfully defended his crown in the matches against Marshall (the USA, 1907), Tarrasch (Germany, 1908), Janowsky (Berlin, 1910) and Schlechter (Vienna-Berlin, 1910). Still, eventually, he was defeated by Capablanca (Habana, 1921). After losing his title, Lasker remained an extremely strong player, famously winning a stellar tournament in New York (1924).

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One of the most talented players ever, Jose Raul Capablanca (1888-1942), quickly made his way up in the chess arena before World War I and earned a moral right to challenge Lasker. The title match was played only in 1921 in Habana due to World War I and protracted negotiations. Capablanca defeated Lasker convincingly +4 -0 = 10 and became the third World Champion. Despite popular belief (the champion seemed invincible and even was dubbed the “Human Chess Machine”), his reign over the chess world lasted only six years as he lost the title match to Alekhine in 1927.

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A top player by the age of 22, a native of Moscow, Alexander Alekhine (1892-1946), stringed together several impressive tournament victories in the mid-1920s and managed to secure a $10,000 prize fund for a title match with Capablanca. Played in 1927 in Buenos Aires, this match is still considered one of the most exciting and dramatic duels in chess history. Alekhine won the match (+6-3=25) and became the fourth World Champion. Alekhine dominated the tournaments in the early 1930s and handily defended his title in the matches with Bogoljubov in 1929 and 1934.

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A math professor by occupation, Max Euwe (1901-1981) established himself as a credible challenger to Alekhine in the early 1930s after a series of good results in tournaments and matches. Euwe challenged Alekhine in 1933, and two years later, the champion picked up the gauntlet. Alekhine was considered a clear favourite, but somewhat unexpectedly, Euwe prevailed in a close match (the Netherlands, 1935) by a score of 15½-14½ to become the fifth World Champion.

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After diligent preparation, Alekhine won the rematch against Euwe in 1937 (+10-4=11) and returned the title. Due to World War II, he played no more matches and remained unbeaten until his untimely death in 1946.

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After Alexander Alekhine died in 1946, the 1948 Wold Chess championship, a five-player tournament, was organized to determine the World Champion. The event held in Hague and Moscow saw the victory of the leader of Soviet chess Mikhail Botvinnik (1911-1995). The pioneer of an analytical approach and profound opening preparation, he later drew close matches with Bronstein (Moscow, 1951) and Smyslov (Moscow, 1954) to retain his title (under existing rules at that time).

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Arguably the strongest player of the 1950s, Vasily Smyslov (1921-2010) challenged Botvinnik in 1954 after winning the Candidates in Zurich (1953), but the match was drawn. He got a second chance in 1957 after coming out on top in the Candidates in Amsterdam (1956) and took the title by defeating Botvinnik 12½-9½ (Moscow, 1957).

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Mikhail Botvinnik thoroughly prepared for the rematch (Moscow, 1958) and regained the chess crown after beating Smyslov 12½-10½.

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The meteoric rise of Mikhail Tal (1936-1992) staggers imagination – he made it all the way from a mere master to the World Champion over three years. After winning the Candidates Tournament (Yugoslavia, 1959), he challenged Botvinnink in 1960 and seized the chess crown after winning the title match 12½-8½ (Moscow, 1960). His reign was short-lived, as he lost the rematch to Botvinnik a year later. Tal came very close to challenging the World Champion one more time but lost the final Candidates match to Spassky (Tbilisi, 1965).

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Botvinnik once again proved himself an unrivalled master of home preparation – he completely changed his strategy and convincingly won the rematch 13-8. However, Tal was not in the best of health.

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A fine positional player and brilliant tactician, Tigran Petrosian (1929-1984) was known for his solid style and nicknamed “Iron Tigran”. He had participated in three Candidates tournaments before finishing first in Curacao (1962), earning the right to challenge the World Champion. In 1963 he dethroned Botvinnik (+5-2=15) and three years later defended his title in the title match against Spassky (12½-11½).

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One of the most talented players of his generation, Boris Spassky (born in 1937), made his debut in the Candidate Tournament (Amsterdam, 1956) at 19 and showed great potential but then missed two championship cycles only to resume his quest for chess crown eight years later. After defeating Keres (1965), Geller (1965) and Tal (1965), he earned the right to challenge Petrosian but lost the title match (Moscow, 1966). Spassky made it all the way up again in the next cycle and won the crown in his second match (Moscow, 1969) with the ninth world champion by a score of 12½-10½.

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The youngest-ever participant of the Candidates Tournament, Robert James Fischer (1943-2008), came down into history as a person who single-handedly disrupted Soviet dominance in chess. Fisher made his debut in Candidates in 1959 at the tender age of 16, but he was not mature enough to compete with the top Soviet Grandmasters. After winning the Interzonal in Stockholm three years later, Fischer entered the Candidates in Curacao (1962) as one of the favourites, but it turned sour for him as he finished only fourth. Robert James voluntarily missed two championship cycles only to return strong, winning the Interzonal in Palma de Majorca (1970). After pummeling Taimanov (6-0), Larsen (6-0) and Petrosian (6½-2½), he earned the right to play a title match with the reigning champion Boris Spassky (Reykjavik, 1973). Fischer won by a score of 12½–8½ and became the 11^th World Champion. He was expected to defend his title in 1975 against Karpov but refused and lost by default.

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Born in Zlatoust (Ural Region, USSR) in 1951, Anatoly Karpov showed great promise from the very start of his career. After a series of excellent results in various competitions, including the Interzonal in Leningrad (1973), he qualified for the Candidates matches. Although Karpov stated “it is not my cycle” on a few occasions, he confidently beat Polugaevsky (+3-0=5) and Spassky (+4-1=6), then prevailed over Korchnoi (+3-2=19) and earned the right to challenge Fischer. After Fischer refused to defend his title, Karpov was crowned as the 12^th World Champion. He retained his crown for over ten years, defeating Korchnoi in the title matches in Baguio (1978) and Merano (1981).

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Garry Kasparov (born in 1963) was widely thought to be a future champion in his teens, and he lived up to these expectations after winning the Interzonal in Moscow (1982) and crushing Beliavsky (+4-1=4), Korchnoi (+4-1=6) and Smyslov (+4-0=9) in the Candidates matches. His unlimited first-to-win-six-games match with Karpov (Moscow, 1984) became the longest in history. It was terminated without result and stirred up much controversy. Next year another match was organized, which Kasparov won 13-11 to become the youngest World Champion. In the following five years, Kasparov defended his title in three matches with Karpov: London-Leningrad, 1986 (12½–11½), Linares, 1987 (12-12) and New York-Lyon, 1990 (12½–11½).

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After Kasparov and Short created PCA and played the title match under this new organization, FIDE organized its title match between Anatoly Karpov (who lost to Short in the semis) and the finalist of the Candidates matches, Jan Timman (1993). Karpov defeated his old rival 12½-8½ and then defended the title in the match against Kamsky +6-3=9 (Elista 1996) and the FIDE World Championship final against Anand in 1998 (+2−2=2, rapid tiebreak 2–0).

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The first-ever kanockout FIDE World Championship took place in Las Vegas (1999). Rated only 44^th in the world at that time, GM Alexander Khalifman (born in 1966) from St-Petersburg won seven consecutive matches, including the final with Vladimir Akopian (3½-2½) and took the title.

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The first Grandmaster from India (born in 1969), one of the most talented players of his generation, Viswanathan Anand, started his quest for the chess crown in the championship cycle 1990-1993 but lost the semifinal against Karpov. Ten years later, he entered FIDE World Championship 2000 as the main favourite. He delivered on his promise by winning seven straight matches, including the final with Alexei Shirov (3½-½) and taking the title.

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A native of Ukraine, Ruslan Ponomariov (born in 1983) became the youngest FIDE World Championship winner in chess history. Although not listed among the favourites of the FIDE World Championship 2002, the 18-year-old prodigy made it to the final in which he beat his compatriot Vasyl Ivanchuk by a score of 4½-2½.

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The FIDE World Chess Championship 2004 was held in Tripoli, Libya. Somewhat unexpectedly, Rustam Kasimdzhanov from Uzbekistan (born in 1979) won six matches, including the victory over the favourites Vasyl Ivanchuk and Veselin Topalov and advanced to the final in which he faced Michael Adams. After six games were drawn, Rustam prevailed on a tiebreak to clinch the title.

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A native of Ruse, Bulgaria, Veselin Topalov (born in 1975) earned the right to play in the FIDE World Chess Championship 2005 in San Luis, Argentina, as one of the top-rated grandmasters. After scoring 6½ out of 7 in the first part of the event (one of the greatest streaks in such competitions), Topalov smoothly sailed to the victory securing the title with a round to spare.

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In 1993 Kasparov and Short (the winner of the Candidates cycle) played the title match outside of FIDE jurisdiction, which Kasparov won 12½–7½. Two years later, he defended his title in the match against the winner of the PCA candidate cycle Viswanathan Anand by a score of 10½–7½ (New York, 1995). Despite losing the chess crown in 2000, he continued to dominate tournaments and was #1 in the FIDE rating list when he retired from professional chess.

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A pupil of Botvinnik chess school, Vladimir Kramnik showed great potential early and debuted in the Russian team at Olympiad in Manila (1992) at 17. He built an awe-inspiring tournament record in the following years and became #1 in the FIDE rating list in January 1996. In 2000 Kasparov organized a title match against Kramnik in London. Kramnik dethroned Kasparov in a memorable battle 8½–6½ without losing a single game. Four years later, he defended his title, drawing the match against Peter Leko (Brissago, 2004).

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In April 2006, FIDE announced a reunification match between Kramnik and Topalov (the FIDE World Chess Championship 2006). The competition took place in Elista, Kalmykia. Vladimir Kramnik beat Veselin Topalov on a tiebreaker and became an undisputed World Champion.

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The World Chess Championship 2007 was held in a double round-robin format with the undisputed World Champion Vladimir Kramnik participating. Viswanathan Anand won the event, becoming the only undefeated player in the competition. In the following years, he successfully defended his title by defeating Kramnik 6½-4½ (Bonn, 2008), Topalov 6½-5½ (Sofia, 2010), and prevailing over Gelfand in a tiebreaker (Moscow, 2012).

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The youngest player to surpass a 2800 rating mark, Magnus Carlsen from Norway (born in 1990) stormed into the chess elite in his teens. Carlsen withdrew from the Candidates 2010, dissatisfied with the format, but three years later, he won the Candidates Tournament (London, 2013) thanks to better tiebreaks over Vladimir Kramnik and became the challenger. The same year he convincingly defeated Viswanathan Anand in the title match by a score of 6½–3½ and became the World Champion. During his reign, Magnus defended the title by beating Anand again 6½–4½ (Sochi, 2014) and prevailing in tiebreaks over Sergey Karjakin (New York, 2016) and Fabiano Caruana (London, 2018). In 2021 Carlsen beat Ian Nepomniachtchi in Dubai 7½–3½ and, shortly after the match, announced that he would not defend his title, later confirming it with the official withdrawal. The almost 10-year reign of Magnus Carlsen has ended.